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Daniel Berdichevsky is the program's founder and Alpaca-in-Chief. In high school, he achieved the highest score in the history of the U.S. Academic Decathlon; he has been a professional nerd ever since. For Daniel, Decathlon was life-changing: it introduced him to the joy of teamwork, inspired him to overcome his fear of public speaking, and launched him into college with new confidence. It was after studying Science, Technology, and Society at Stanford and Public Policy at Harvard that he had realized three things: (1) that there was no opportunity like the one he had been given for students around the world; (2) that such a global program could be for students in the 21st century what Decathlon had been for him in the 20th; and (3) that he had discovered his life’s work. Daniel has also led strategic innovation for CASIO, worked briefly in venture capital, and marketed a song for Camilla Cabello.
Founded by Daniel Berdichevsky the first World Scholar’s Cup took place in Korea in 2007: a small regional tournament hosted at the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies. The first “global” round followed a few weeks later, bringing together students from Korea, Singapore, and the United States.
The idea behind the World Scholar’s Cup was to create something different than traditional academic competitions and conferences: a celebration of the joy of learning, a tournament as rewarding for the team that came in last as the for the team that came in first, an enrichment opportunity that motivated students not just to demonstrate their existing strengths but to discover new ones.
From that small beginning--a “world finals” more aptly described as a “world starts”--the World Scholar’s Cup has grown to reach tens of thousands of students in dozens of countries.
Key milestones in the 18-year journey since 2006
2006
2006
Alpaca defeats emu; is elected program mascot.
The first World Scholar's Cup takes place in Seoul. People Come. Founder is pleased.
2007
2007
First regional rounds in Thailand, Singapore, and Arizona.
2008
2008
The United States wins its last title. Singapore teams have won every year since.7
2009
2009
First rounds in Dubai, Beijing, Jakarta, Australia, and former Soviet Georgia.
2010
2010
First Scholar's Scavenge leads students to sing on the streets of Singapore.
The first Scholar's Show erupts spontaneously in Dubai while WSC staff is in a taxi.
2011
2011
Alpaca population in North America reaches 125,000; WSC population 12,500.
The 2011 Global Round in Kuala Lumpur features 800 top scholars from 30 different countries...and the very first Scholar's Ball (a.k.a. Nerd Prom)
First-ever alpaca wedding held at a regional round. Founder officiates.
2012
2012
The first World Scholar's Camp comes to Singapore!
The Yale University International Relations Association is proud to host the first annual World Scholar's Cup Tournament of Champions.
The Texas regional round is the first to feature live alpacas. Our founder pwaas in amazement.
New regional rounds in Kenya, Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Hungary, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Japan. WSC staff jetlagged.
The 2012 Global Round in Bangkok introduces 1,001 students to the elusive Japanese alpaca.
2013
2013
Scholars are first asked to take a selfie with their clickers.
1500 scholars attend the 2013 Global Round in Dubai.
Jerry makes his first appearance.
New regional rounds take place in Izmir, Nairobi, Prague, and Shanghai.
2014
2014
The 2014 Global Round welcomes 2400 scholars in Singapore.
The first ever primary rounds are held in Dubai and Shanghai for scholars ages 7 to 10.
New regional rounds take place in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul, Budapest, Jeju, Mumbai, Penang, Perth, Switzerland, Surabaya, and Kansai.
2015
2015
The 2015 Global Round in Kuala Lumpur welcomes 2650 scholars and introduces the first cultural fair; an additional 150 scholars attend the Dublin Global Round.
New regional rounds take place in Accra, Ljubljana, Hanoi, Amman, Chennai, Washington D.C. Astana, Dehradun, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Patna, Santiago, Mogadishu, and Sofia.
The World Scholar’s Cup acquires its first live alpaca, Painted Warrior.
2016
2016
3450 scholars take part in the Bangkok Global Round, where Daniel rides into opening ceremonies on a tuk-tuk and Chauncey makes his debut on the global round stage team; an additional 500 participate in Prague.
Worldwide, 12,650 scholars attend nearly 100 regional rounds.
New regional rounds take place in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Darwin, Adelaide, Bishkek, Athens, Almaty, Calgary, Durban, Elverum, Vancouver, Kampala, Suzhou, Kanpur, Shenzhen, Lahore,Sarajevo, Lusaka, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal, Victoria, and Yangon.
2017
2017
New regional rounds take place in Auckland, Islamabad, Osh, Pavlodar, Moscow, Amsterdam, Kyushu, Bangalore, Muscat, New York, San Jose, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Qingdao.
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